Reading Chapter 52 of The Mark Of Athena
by QueenOfHearts143
Summary: The thing about reading, is that sometimes it hurts. The entire camp found that out today, and ever since they weren't the same. It all started 3 hours ago. -Set during the time when Percy is asked if he wants to be a god during The Last Olympian. Five teenagers come from the future, along with some sheets of paper, to reveal the grave future for Percy and Annabeth. R&R :)
1. Chapter 1

**Authour's Note: Hi! So I have always loved the reading the books stories, and especially the ones with past Annabeth and Percy. So, I decided to try and write one, but I'm only going to have them read the last chapter of MoA. Just going one baby step at a time. Now on with the story!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS, NOT HEROES OF OLYMPUS, NOR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS! RICK RIORDAN DOES! (AND I AM JEALOUS) EVERYTHING IN BOLD (AND ITALICS AT THE BEGINNING) ARE RICK RIORDAN'S WORK! UNLESS IT'S AN AUTHOURS' NOTE!**

The thing about reading, is that sometimes it hurts. The entire camp found that out today, and ever since they weren't the same. It all started 3 hours ago.

_"PERCY JACKSON!" Poseidon announced. My name echoed around the chamber._

_All talking died down. The room was silent except for the crackle of the hearth fire. Everyone's eyes_

_were on me—all the gods, the demigods, the Cyclopes, the spirits. I walked into the middle of the throne room. Hestia smiled at me reassuringly. She was in the form of a girl now, and she seemed happy and content to be sitting by her fire again. Her smile gave me courage to keep walking._

_First I bowed to Zeus. Then I knelt at my father's feet._

_"Rise, my son," Poseidon said._

_I stood uneasily._

_"A great hero must be rewarded," Poseidon said. "Is there anyone here who would deny that my son is deserving?"_

_I waited for someone to pipe up. The gods never agreed on anything, and many of them still didn't like me, but not a single one protested._

_"The Council agrees," Zeus said. "Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods."_

_I hesitated. "Any gift?"_

_Zeus nodded grimly. "I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. The gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries, but, Perseus Jackson—if you wish it—you shall be made a god. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time."_

_I stared at him, stunned. "Um . . . a god?"_

_Zeus rolled his eyes. "A dimwitted god, apparently. But yes. With the consensus of the entire_

_Council, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever."_

_"Hmm," Ares mused. "That means I can smash him to a pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea."_

_"I approve as well," Athena said, though she was looking at Annabeth._

_I glanced back. Annabeth was trying not to meet my eyes. Her face was pale. I flashed back to two years ago, when I'd thought she was going to take the pledge to Artemis and become a Hunter. I'd been on the edge of a panic attack, thinking that I'd lose her. Now, she looked pretty much the same way._

_I thought about the Three Fates, and the way I'd seen my life flash by. I could avoid all that. No aging, no death, no body in the grave. I could be a teenager forever, in top condition, powerful, and immortal, serving my father. I could have power and eternal life._

_Who could refuse that?_

_Then I looked at Annabeth again. I thought about my friends from camp: Charles Beckendorf,_

_Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, so many others who were now dead. I thought about Ethan Nakamura and Luke._

_And I knew what to do._

All of a sudden a bright light flashed in the throne room forcing everyone-even the gods to look away. After a couple of seconds, the light faded away and everyone looked toward where it was previously coming from to see…..five teenagers-none of who they knew.

There was a boy who looked to be about 16 years old with cropped golden-blond hair, blue eyes, and a scar above his upper lip. He was above average height, with an athletic build and muscular arms. He also had a tattoo burned under his forearm, with twelve straight lines like a bar code, an eagle, and the letters SPQR over the lines. Holding onto his hand was a Cherokee girl that looked to be around the same age as him. She had uneven caramel-colored hair, and eyes that kept changing color. Her build was slim, and she was average height.

Standing beside them was boy who looked to be about 15 years old. He looked sort of like a "Latino Santa's Elf" with curly black hair, dark brown eyes, a cheerful face, short with a slim build, and having a mischievous smile. Also there was another boy and girl holding hands standing a little bit behind the rest. The boy looked to be about 16 with a chubby , babyish face stuck to a large, stocky frame. He looked to be Asian-Canadian. He had a tattoo as well, though it was an image of two crossed spears and a single bar line. The girl looked to be younger than the others, possibly 13 years old. She had an African American complexion, with cocoa-colored skin, cinnamon-brown hair, and golden eyes. She also had a tattoo under her forearm, but her tattoo looked like a cross with curved arms and a head, with one bar line beneath it.

All of them had extreme sadness displayed on their faces, as well as shock. Their eyes scanned the crowd before them, and they widened when they fell upon Annabeth and Percy. The two girls turned to each other and whispered something whilst throwing glances at Annabeth and Percy, who both raised an eyebrow. Finally, the blond haired guy cleared his throat.

"Ummmm, why are we here?" he asked.

"We don't, uh, know. Who are you guys anyway?" Katie responded.

"What do you mean you don't know us?" the latino elf shouted.

"Sorry." Katie shrugged.

All of a sudden another light flashed in the room, a smaller one, and a couple of stapled papers floated down from it. They landed directly in front of Athena. Immediately all eyes turned towards her.

"What is that?"

"What does it say?"

"Why am I even here?"

Murmurs floated all around the throne room increasing the volume.

"SILENCE!" Zeus thundered **(A/N: Sorry, I couldn't resist! :P) **"Read what it says."

"It's blank. Wait...there's a note here." Athena cleared her throat before reading.

"Dear Olympians, demigods, satyrs and whoever else happens to be there,

Currently, you all must be very confused, but I can assure you that everything we did is good. To clear up some confusion, I would like to say that the five people most of you don't recognize were brought from the future." *cue some gasps* "I have brought them here to read with you an event that happens less than a year from now. You deserve to know what will happen. The words will appear in a second.

Sincerely,

Apollo and the Three Fates.  
P.S. Athena and Poseidon, I am sorry." she finished.

"I sent this from the future?! That's so awesome!" Apollo screamed high fiving Hermes.

"And so irresponsible! We have laws to follow and I'm pretty sure we shouldn't be tampering with time!" Artemis rebutted.

"Well, anyways, it looks like we're here to read." Athena said. "How fun! I wonder what this is going to be about?"

"Why did it say sorry to me and Athena?" Poseidon asked confused.

"Athena and I." Athena corrected. "And I'm not sure."

"Wow, that's a first!" Poseidon snorted.

"Can it, Fishface!" she retorted.

Poseidon rolled his eyes, but continued to silently think why it said that.

"Anyway, why don't we have the futures introduce themselves?" Aphrodite suggested.

All the gods and goddesses, minus Hestia, looked at her in disbelief.

"What?" she asked, innocently twirling her hair through her finger.

"Y..you said something s..smart!" Hera exclaimed.

Aphrodite huffed. "I can be smart!"

"Yeah, but you never are." Hermes said.

The blonde hair future kid started talking before WWIII could break out.

"Before we introduce ourselves, we need the god's to promise they won't get mad." he said.

"Why would we get….." Hades started.

"Just do it!" the blonde kid repeated.

Slowly all the gods and goddesses in the room swore they wouldn't get mad. The future kids breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uh, I'll go first." the blonde boy said. "My name is Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, and one of the seven."

Gasps were heard through the room, and murmurs of "What do you mean Jupiter?"

Jason spoke again. "Yes, I do mean Jupiter. There are roman demigods too."

As the camp tried to absorb this new information, a black haired girl burst through the crowd and stood in front of Jason.

"J..Jason?" she asked timidly. In response he threw a grin at her. "Oh my gods! I….It's you! It's really you!" she yelled, throwing her arms around him.

"Uh, Thalia? Why are you hugging hi-. Oh my gods. Jason Grace, Thalia Grace. He's your brother! Full brother too!" Annabeth exclaimed.

Thalia let go of Jason and turned to Annabeth with a smile on her face.

"I haven't seem him since he was 2. I've missed him so much."

"Hate to ruin this lovely family reunion," Travis inputted.

"But we still have four more people to get know." Connor continued.

The Cherokee girl stepped up and started to introduce herself. Her voice demanded attention. "I'm Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, one of the seven."

"Yay! One of my kids are here! And it looks like you are having quite the love life!" Aphrodite squealed, eyeing Jason and Piper's still intertwined hands.

Everyone rolled their eyes at Aphrodite, save the couple she was talking about whose cheeks turned a bright red. The latino kid stepped up next.

"I am the amazing, the awesome, the totally epic LEO VALDEZZ! Son of Hephaestus, one of the seven!" he screamed.

The dark-skinned girl rolled her eyes before speaking.

"I am Hazel Levesque. Daughter of Pluto, one of the seven."

"And I am Frank Zhang. Son of Mars, one of the seven." announced the boy Hazel was holding hands with.

"Okay, now that we know who everyone is, I guess we can start reading." Grover suggested.

"Wait, hold on a second." Percy interrupted. All heads turned towards him.

"Well, what is it Prissy?" Clarisse questioned.

"What is the seven-."

"You mean _who _is the seven." Annabeth corrected.

"Yeah, whatever wise girl. Who is the seven? You all are apart of it, but there is only five of you. Who's the other two?"

The futures glanced nervously at each other before Piper spoke up.

" Umm, after the war, a prophecy was delivered-"

"Or so we've been told." Leo interrupted. "We arrived after that."

"Anyway, a prophecy was delivered, the prophecy of seven. So the five of us are involved in that prophecy, so we are one of the seven." Piper explained.

"And as for who the other two members are, you'll find out after we read." Hazel finished.

"And if you were wondering, the prophecy is _'Seven half bloods shall answer the call, to storm of fire the world must fall. An oath to keep with final breath, and foes bear arms to the doors of death'" _Jason replied mournfully.

All the present people looked in disbelief, shock, and worry at the futures, trying to determine what this prophecy could mean.

"Okay, that was, uh, nice. I guess we should start reading now." Percy announced.

"OH MY GODS! Who are you and what have you done to Percy?" Annabeth asked.

"What do you mean?" Percy replied confused.

"What she means is you, want to read? You, Percy Jackson, want to read a book?" Nico joked.

"It's so scandalous! Somebody alert the media!" Thalia piped up.

"Ha, ha. Very funny guys. You are all so mature." Percy retorted.

"Anyway," Athena interrupted. "Who wants to read?"

"I will." Hestia requested in a soft voice.

She took the papers-which now had words on them- from Athena and started to read.

"**The Mark of Athena. Chapter 52. Annabeth.**" she read.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up! This is in MY point of view! When did I give permission for that to happen?!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"We get to find out what goes on in Wise Girl's mind? Cool!" Percy cheered.

Sounds of this was heard all throughout the camp before Hestia continued to read.

**A****NNABETH HAD SEEN SOME STRANGE THINGS BEFORE****,**

"That's very true." Annabeth stated. "But I think the strangest thing I've seen was the Stolls after their prank on the Aphrodite cabin."

All the campers nodded in agreement-save Travis and Connor who both groaned at the memory. The sight of Travis and Connor in two big, puffy pink and purple lace and feather covered sparkly ball gowns was hilarious. And then with full makeup on and hair done up they looked ridiculous pretty. Which was not something a guy wanted- especially when it stayed on for a week.

**but she'd never seen it rain cars.**

Everyone blinked in surprise.

"Uh, did she just say rain _cars?_" Apollo asked. Hestia nodded in response.

"Well, uh, that's new. I've heard people say rain cats and dogs, rain pitchforks, it's coming down like buckets and it's raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock, but l've never heard someone say rain cars." Hermes mused.

"When have you ever heard someone say it's raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock?" Demeter questioned incredulously.

"It's a...a long story."

**As the roof of the cavern collapsed, sunlight blinded her. She got the briefest glimpse of the **_**Argo II **_**hovering above. **

"What's the Argo II?" Thalia asked.

The futures just looked around nervously, keeping to their quiet and miserable atmosphere.

**It must have used its ballistae to blast a hole straight through the ground.**

"BALLISTAE!" Ares and all his children screamed.

**Chunks of asphalt as big as garage doors tumbled down, along with six or seven Italian cars. One would've crushed the Athena Parthenos, **

"Woah, woah, woah!" Athena's children cried. "Annabeth is in the presence of the Athena Parthenos!?"

Annabeth raised her eyebrow in shock.

Athena started to think about this. 'The only way she should even be close to my statue is if…...'

"NO I didn't!" she screamed out loud.

"What's wrong mother?" Annabeth asked.

"If you are with the Athena Parthenos, then that means I...I gave you the Mark Of Athena." she whispered.

The people who understood that eyes' went large.

**but the statue's glowing aura acted like a force field, and the car bounced off. Unfortunately, it fell straight toward Annabeth.**

"Oh no!" was heard all throughout the hall.

**She jumped to one side, twisting her bad foot. A wave of agony almost made her pass out, **

Annabeth winced at the future pain she was to endure. Percy noticing this grabbed her hand and started rubbing small circles into her palm and flashed her a reassuring grin.

"Ouch! That's gotta hurt like Hades!" Hephaestus exclaimed. Needless to say, everyone agreed.

**but she flipped on her back in time to see a bright red Fiat 500 slam into Arachne's **

"A... Arachne?" Athena and her children whispered in fear.

"Hey, isn't that the weaver who was better than you, so you turned her into a spider?" Poseidon asked.

"She was not better than me!" Athena fumed.

While they were talking, Annabeth was shaking at the thought of encountering Arachne, mother of the things she hated the most, spiders.

**silk trap, punching through the cavern floor and disappearing with the Chinese Spidercuffs.**

**As Arachne fell, she screamed like a freight train on a collision course; but her wailing rapidly faded. All around Annabeth, more chunks of debris slammed through the floor, riddling it with holes.**

"Please don't hit her. Please don't hit her!" the campers chanted.

**The Athena Parthenos remained undamaged, though the marble under its pedestal was a starburst of fractures. Annabeth was covered in cobwebs. **

Said girl shivered at the thought.

**She trailed strands of leftover spider silk from her arms and legs like the strings of a marionette, but somehow, amazingly, none of the debris had hit her.**

"Thank the gods!" the campers sighed in relief.

"You're welcome!" some of the immature gods replied cheekily.

**She wanted to believe that the statue had protected her, though she suspected it might've been nothing but luck.**

Athena looked down. 'Why didn't I protect her?' she thought.

**The army of spiders had disappeared. Either they had fled back into the darkness, or they'd fallen into the chasm.**

"Good! I hate spiders!" Annabeth shuddered.

"We know!" her friends chroused.

**As daylight flooded the cavern, Arachne's tapestries along the walls crumbled to dust, which Annabeth could hardly bear to watch—especially the tapestry depicting her and Percy.**

"Ummm, that's a little bit creepy." Grover stated.

"What was it depicting anyway?" Percy asked looking towards Annabeth.

"How am I supposed to know? This is in the future, remember Seaweed Brain?" she replied.

All of a sudden a little white note appeared in the sky and floated down into Aphrodite's lap. She slowly picked it up and started to read it.

"Almost forgot, in the future there is a slight difference you should be aware of that will clear up some stuff." Aphrodite stopped mid sentence and let out a super high pitched excited squeal.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK! It finally happened! I'm SO brilliant!" she screamed.

"What is it? What does it say?" Artemis questioned.

"It says Percy and Annabeth are DATING in the future! EEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

For a couple of seconds the room went silent, then immediately several different reactions were given. Most of the campers screamed "Yes!" and "Finally!" while dancing around happily. The futures, who most people had forgotten was there, started to slightly laugh at their reactions. Percy and Annabeth were blushing a bright red, silently wondering if they were really that obvious. Athena on the other hand, had a much different response.

"WHAT!? Why is my intelligent daughter dating that….that SEA SPAWN!" she seethed. "She could do SO much better!"

"Wait...hold on, there's a little side note for you." Aphrodite said. "And Athena, I know you hate Percy right now, but if you still hate him at the end of this, than you are dead to me. -Apollo."

"What could he possibly do to make me not hate him?!" Athena snarled.

"Maybe we should keep reading and find out." Annabeth said, still blushing hard.

**But none of that mattered when she heard Percy's voice from above: "Annabeth!"**

**"Here!" she sobbed.**

**All the terror seemed to leave her in one massive yelp. **

"That is SO CUTE!" Aphrodite exclaimed. Everyone rolled their eyes at her antics.

**As the **_**Argo II **_**descended, she saw Percy leaning over the rail. His smile was better than any tapestry she'd ever seen.**

Percy leaned down and whispered into Annabeth's ear "So you like my smile, eh?"

Blushing Annabeth hit him in the shoulder and replied, "This is in the future! And by the way why are you saying eh? Are you Canadian or something?"

Percy feigned hurt and held his hand to his heart. "I'll have you know that I can be whatever I want to be! Barbie said so!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but you could still see the smile on her face as she did so.

**The room kept shaking, but Annabeth managed to stand. The floor at her feet seemed stable for the moment. Her backpack was missing, along with Daedalus's laptop.**

Annabeth pouted, she really liked that laptop.

**Her bronze knife, which she'd had since she was seven, was also gone—probably fallen into the pit. **

Thalia and Annabeth frowned remembering the time she had gotten the knife from Luke. Quickly after that thought they remembered that he had just died hours ago, and winced along with everyone in the room but the futures.

**But Annabeth didn't care. She was alive.**

"Good to know you have your priorities straight." Will remarked. Silently everyone else agreed.

**She edged closer to the gaping hole made by the Fiat 500. Jagged rock walls plunged into the darkness as far as Annabeth could see. A few small ledges jutted out here and there, but Annabeth saw nothing on them—just strands of spider silk dripping over the sides like Christmas tinsel.**

"Speaking of Christmas." Tyson started. "I am need of some Peanut Butter, and Christmas is right around the corner. Just in case you were wondering what to get me."

"Umm, Christmas isn't for ,like, another 4 months." Malcolm inputted.

"You can never be too prepared." Tyson replied.

**Annabeth wondered if Arachne had told the truth about the chasm. Had the spider fallen all the way to Tartarus? **

"Wait. Did that just say Tartarus?!" everyone exclaimed. Hestia's eyes ran over the previous words before nodding.

"Annabeth needs to get out of there! She can't risk any accidents happening!" Athena declared nervously.

"Athena's right. Even us GODS do not go near Tartarus." Zeus said.

**She tried to feel satisfied with that idea, but it made her sad. **

"Why would it make you sad?" Annabeth's siblings questioned.

"I'm sure it will explain." she said.

**Arachne **_**had **_**made some beautiful things. She'd already suffered for eons. Now her last tapestries had crumbled. After all that, falling into Tartarus seemed like too harsh an end.**

Athena looked down guiltily at her hands at that. Maybe she had made too rash a mistake by putting that curse on Arachne. It had brought her nothing but trouble anyways.

**Annabeth was dimly aware of the **_**Argo II **_**hovering to a stop about forty feet from the floor. It lowered a rope ladder, but Annabeth stood in a daze, staring into the darkness. Then suddenly Percy was next to her, lacing his fingers in hers.**

Aphrodite squealed again. She was really going to enjoy this reading if it kept having Percabeth moments in it.

**He turned her gently away from the pit**

"Good!" Katie said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Get as far away from that pit as possible."

**and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and broke down in tears.**

"The mighty Annabeth is crying! Gasp! I've never heard of such a thing!" Clarisse exclaimed.

Annabeth glared at Clarisse and replied, "Everybody shows emotions. It's normal and it's healthy! In fact, if I remember correctly, I do believe that one Saturday afternoon you were angrily crying at the fact that you are not the best anymore. And by the way, when you cry like that it's totally not attractive."

Immediately, Clarisse's face turned red with anger and she turned away from Annabeth. Everyone watching the scene was trying to stifle their laughter, except for Ares, who was fuming at the nerve of Athena's child, and Chris who was practically Clarisse's boyfriend, which meant he couldn't make fun of her.

**"It's okay," he said. "We're together."**

**He didn't say **_**you're okay**_**, or **_**we're alive. **_**After all they'd been through over the last year, he knew the most important thing was that they were together.**

"That's so beautiful!" Aphrodite cried laying her head on Hephaestus' shoulder, causing Ares to grumble in annoyance, and Hephaestus to smile widely.

**She loved him for saying that.**

"She loves him! OMG! She loves him! Percabeth is officially forever!" Aphrodite squealed.

**Their friends gathered around them. Nico di Angelo was there,**

Nico's ears perked up at the mention of his name. As did Hades'.

**but Annabeth's thoughts were so fuzzy, this didn't seem surprising to her. It seemed only right that he would be with them.**

**"Your leg." Piper knelt next to her and examined the Bubble Wrap cast. "Oh, Annabeth, what **_**happened**_**?"**

"You know bubble wrap is probably the best invention ever!" Percy said.

"What?" everyone asked slightly confused.

"Well, that and duct tape. They're extremely fun. In fact, if I was stranded on an island, the only thing I would need would be bubble wrap and duct tape. Then I'll be set for life in the island." Percy exclaimed.

"First of all, that was really random! And secondly, you couldn't possibly be stranded on an island. You are a son of Poseidon, god of the seas. Islands have water surrounding them, so you could just use that water and leave the island." Annabeth replied.

Percy, being the mature teenager he was, just stuck his tongue out at her.

**She started to explain. Talking was difficult, but as she went along, her words came more easily. Percy didn't let go of her hand, which also made her feel more confident. **

"The feels!" Aphrodite shouted, fanning her face with her hot pink, lace hand fan. "There's so much feels!"

At the same time Percy leaned over to Annabeth again and said, "You know, you make me more confident too. I don't know why, but just being around you makes me more sure of myself, braver too."

Annabeth now had two reasons to blush.

**When she finished, her friends' faces were slack with amazement.**

**"Gods of Olympus," Jason said. **

"Wait a second…...Jason is there….and so was Piper. That's two people from the prophecy of seven. What are they doing there?" Annabeth mused.

Everyone turned to look at the futures, who had no choice but to respond.

"Welllllll, you see….the reason we're there is…..a…" Leo stammered.

"GET TO THE POINT!" everyone in the room shouted.

"This is part of the quest for the prophecy of seven!" Leo exclaimed, before slapping his hands over his mouth.

"Wait, what?"

"What Leo means is that, the five of us, plus the other two members are there. We diverted from our quest for a little bit to save Nico, and for Annabeth to go on her quest." Piper explained.

"Then that would mean Percy and Annabeth are the other two members of the prophecy of seven. Correct?" Artemis asked.

The futures nodded.

"How come Prissy gets to do all the cool quests!?" Clarisse muttered.

"This is hardly cool. Well, maybe a little bit, but this quest is incredibly dangerous, and holds a lot of pressure. Don't you remember-_to storm or fire the world must fall?_" Frank replied.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged glances. They were going to be in the middle of another prophecy, where if the failed, the world died. Great, just great.

"Hey…...you said something about having to save Nico. What was that about?" Hades questioned.

"I, uh, think it'd be best if we didn't tell you. Maybe after the reading,, but don't get your hopes up too high." Hazel said, nervousness and sadness filling her face.

**"You did all that alone. With a broken ankle."**

**"Well…**_**some **_**of it with a broken ankle."**

"Always so modest." Thalia said whilst smiling.

**Percy grinned. "You made Arachne weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but Holy Hera—Annabeth, you **_**did **_**it. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. You found the Athena Parthenos!"**

"Wait, hold up. Back this truck up! Annabeth found the Athena Parthenos! AND made Arachne weave her own trap!" Malcolm screamed. "Gods, you must be the awesomest child of Athena ever!"

Athena smiled. "He might just be right. I have lost a lot of kids during this quest, and I am completely relieved that you're not one of them. You make me proud Annabeth!"

Annabeth smiled brightly up at her mother. That was all she ever wanted to do. To make her proud.

**Everyone gazed at the statue.**

**"What do we do with her?" Frank asked. "She's huge."**

"Here you go Athena." Hermes cheekily said, handing her a small card.

"A membership card to….FATTIES TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT!?" Athena screamed.

"Well, it said you were huge! Like.." Hermes replied holding his hands out and apart indicating her being fat. "And besides, with that card, you can get up to 20% off your purchase!"

Everyone was laughing and some people where even rolling around the floor clutching their stomach *cough cough* Apollo, Leo, the Stolls, Percy and Nico *cough cough*. Athena just continued to fume. She lunged herself at Hermes, and threw him to the floor, before kicking him in the nuts. Four times. Hermes let out an extremely girly scream and grabbed his balls. All the guys in the room winced.

Athena walked back to her throne wearing a satisfied smirk on her face. 'This is why no one messes with me.' she thought happily.

**"We'll have to take her with us to Greece," Annabeth said. "The statue is powerful. Something about it will help us stop the giants."**

_**"The giants' bane stands gold and pale," **_**Hazel quoted. **_**"Won with pain from a woven jail." **_**She looked at Annabeth with admiration. "It was Arachne's jail. You tricked her into weaving it."**

Admiration still filled the occupants of the room.

**With a **_**lot **_**of pain, Annabeth thought.**

**Leo raised his hands. He made a finger picture frame around the Athena Parthenos like he was taking measurements. "Well, it might take some rearranging, but I think we can fit her through the bay doors in the stable. If she sticks out the end, I might have to wrap a flag around her feet or something."**

**Annabeth shuddered. She imagined the Athena Parthenos jutting from their trireme with a sign across her pedestal that read: ****WIDE LOAD****.**

Everyone started to laugh again at the thought. It just was too funny.

**Then she thought about the other lines of the prophecy: **_**The twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the keys to endless death.**_

**"What about you guys?" she asked. "What happened with the giants?"**

**Percy told her about rescuing Nico, the appearance of Bacchus,**

Dionysus looked up, before briefly switching to his Roman form.

"Why would I help those brats!" he moaned.

In response, he got a room full of glares that caused him to shrink in his seat.

**and the fight with the twins in the Colosseum. Nico didn't say much. The poor guy looked like he'd been wandering through a wasteland for six weeks. **

"What happened to him?" everyone wondered.

**Percy explained what Nico had found out about the Doors of Death,**

"What's wrong with the Doors of Death?" Hades worriedly asked. The futures just shook their heads. They weren't revealing a single thing.

**and how they had to be closed on both sides. Even with sunlight streaming in from above, Percy's news made the cavern seem dark again.**

**"So the mortal side is in Epirus," she said. "At least that's somewhere we can reach."**

**Nico grimaced. "But the other side is the problem. Tartarus."**

"Wait! Someone needs to close the doors from INSIDE TARTARUS!" Poseidon exclaimed. "Who would be crazy enough to sacrifice themself like that!?"

"I think I know who." Athena whispered. "And you probably won't like it."

Immediately, Poseidon put a halt to the conversation and urged Hestia to continue reading.

**The word seemed to echo through the chamber. The pit behind them exhaled a cold blast of air. That's when Annabeth knew with certainty. The chasm **_**did **_**go straight to the Underworld.**

Everyone shuddered at the thought of their friends being so close to Tartarus.

**Percy must have felt it too. He guided her a little farther from the edge. **

"What a good boyfriend!" Aphrodite squealed.

Percy and Annabeth blushed but couldn't help thinking '_I'd/He'd be the best boyfriend if it was for her/me.'_

**Her arms and legs trailed spider silk like a bridal train.**

Athena's cabin shuddered at the thought again.

**She wished she had her dagger to cut that junk off. She almost asked Percy to do the honors with Riptide, but before she could, he said, "Bacchus mentioned something about **_**my **_**voyage being harder than I expected. **

"You better not be implying something there Dionysus!" Poseidon shouted.

"Well, there are only so many ways things can go." he replied raising a wine glass full of grape juice to his lips. "And that just happens to be one of them."

Poseidon looked like he wanted to strangle him. Percy on the other hand looked a bit worried at having more pressure put on him. Annabeth noticing this, grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, whilst throwing a small smile at him. Percy smiled gratefully back.

**Not sure why—"**

**The chamber groaned.**

"That doesn't sound good!" the campers cried.

**The Athena Parthenos tilted to one side. Its head caught on one of Arachne's support cables, but the marble foundation under the pedestal was crumbling.**

"Oh no!" everyone whispered.

"They need to secure it!" Hephaestus said.

**Nausea swelled in Annabeth's chest. If the statue fell into the chasm, all her work would be for nothing. Their quest would fail.**

Annabeth felt worried about her future. She didn't want to disappoint her mom. She had to make sure they succeeded in retrieving the statue.

Percy squeezed her hand and whispered in her ear, "It's going to be okay."

Instantly, she felt better.

**"Secure it!" Annabeth cried.**

**Her friends understood immediately.**

**"Zhang!" Leo cried. "Get me to the helm, quick! The coach is up there alone."**

**Frank transformed into a giant eagle,**

"WOAH! You can change into an eagle!" the campers cried at Frank.

He shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Yeah, I can shape shift."

"That is so cool man! You don't even understand how awesome that must be!" Connor exclaimed.

"Imagine all the pranks we could pull off!" Travis shouted at his twin.

Everyone shuddered at the thought of the two Hermes boys possessing the ability to change shape. Well, except Hermes and his cabin who just gave them a thumbs up and laughed.

**and the two of them soared toward the ship.**

**Jason wrapped his arm around Piper. He turned to Percy. "Back for you guys in a sec." He summoned the wind and shot into the air.**

Jason placed his head in his hands.

"I should've been faster! I could've saved them." he whispered miserably to the futures.

Piper grabbed his head and forced him to look at her.

"It's not your fault. It's not anybody's fault! You hear me?" she declared with a hint of charmspeak in her voice.

Slowly, Jason nodded his head, as did the rest of the futures.

**"This floor won't last!" Hazel warned. "The rest of us should get to the ladder."**

**Plumes of dust and cobwebs blasted from holes in the floor. The spider's silk support cables trembled like massive guitar strings and began to snap. Hazel lunged for the bottom of the rope ladder and gestured for Nico to follow, but Nico was in no condition to sprint.**

Hades clutched his temporary throne arms so hard that his fingers turned white. He was anxious to know what happened to his son.

**Percy gripped Annabeth's hand tighter. "It'll be fine," he muttered.**

**Looking up, she saw grappling lines shoot from the **_**Argo II **_**and wrap around the statue. One lassoed Athena's neck like a noose. Leo shouted orders from the helm as Jason and Frank flew frantically from line to line, trying to secure them.**

**Nico had just reached the ladder when a sharp pain shot up Annabeth's bad leg. She gasped and stumbled.**

"What happened!?" everyone screamed, worry filling their voices.

Percy especially was distressed. He didn't want anything to happen to his Wise Girl. He subtly brought Annabeth closer to him, wanting to feel close to her.

**"What is it?" Percy asked.**

**She tried to stagger toward the ladder. Why was she moving backward instead? Her legs swept out from under her and she fell on her face.**

"Please tell me she just tripped, and I'm getting worried for nothing." Athena said.

No one replied and Hestia just continued to read.

**"Her ankle!" Hazel shouted from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!"**

"Cut her ankle?" Apollo questioned.

**Annabeth's mind was woolly from the pain. Cut her ankle?**

"Ha! I think like a child of Athena!" Apollo announced gleefully.

"No you think like an idiot!" Artemis replied.

Apollo just pouted before remembering. "Well, would an idiot perform the action of time travel!"

"Yes, yes they would."

**Apparently Percy didn't realize what Hazel meant either. Then something yanked Annabeth backward and dragged her toward the pit. **

Everyone started having panic attacks.

"Please, someone save her!" Katie cried. Everyone full heartedly agreed with her, worried for Annabeth's safety.

Annabeth, on the other hand, couldn't think. In less than a year she would be dragged into Tartarus. Was she destined to die at age 16 or 17?

**Percy lunged.**

"Thank you!" was heard all over the room.

"Be careful Percy!" Poseidon yelled. He was concerned about his favourite son.

**He grabbed her arm, but the momentum carried him along as well.**

The tension in the throne room was so thick even Athena's sharp tongue couldn't cut it.

**"Help them!" Hazel yelled.**

**Annabeth glimpsed Nico hobbling in their direction, Hazel trying to disentangle her cavalry sword from the rope ladder. Their other friends were still focused on the statue, and Hazel's cry was lost in the general shouting and the rumbling of the cavern.**

The futures looked depressed.

"It's not our fault guys!" Piper reminded.

That comment didn't make any of them feel any better.

**Annabeth sobbed as she hit the edge of the pit. Her legs went over the side.**

Immediately the tears started falling. All the girls were crying and most of the boys had 'manly tears' trailing down their faces. Even the Stolls didn't have the motivation to joke around anymore.

**Too late, she realized what was happening: she was tangled in the spider silk. **

"It's Arachne's fault!" Athena screamed, tears falling down her face.

**She should have cut it away immediately. She had thought it was just loose line, but with the entire floor covered in cobwebs, she hadn't noticed that one of the strands was wrapped around her foot—and the other end went straight into the pit. **

'_Such a stupid move!' _Annabeth thought to herself. '_And now, in the future, I'll be heading into Tartarus for it.'_

**It was attached to something heavy down in the darkness, something that was pulling her in.**

More sobs were heard around the room.

**"No," Percy muttered, light dawning in his eyes. "My sword…"**

"Yes Percy. Cut off the spider silk. Save Annabeth." Athena quietly whispered.

**But he couldn't reach Riptide without letting go of Annabeth's arm, and Annabeth's strength was gone. **

Percy felt disappointed at his future self. He couldn't have thought of anything to get them out of that situation could he?

**She slipped over the edge. Percy fell with her.**

Poseidon and Athena squeezed their eyes shut at the thought of their favourite children falling into…...Tartarus. They didn't deserve that.

Annabeth leaned over to Percy and whispered, "I'm sorry, that in the future you had to fall in with me. You probably hate me right now."

Percy stared at her for a couple seconds before gently replying, "It's not your fault. It was my decision, and I would do it in a heartbeat right now. I care for you too much to let you go through something like that alone. And I..I could never hate you. Quite the opposite actually."

Annabeth melted at how sweet Percy was. "Thank you!" she whispered, smiling softly.

Percy captured Annabeth in a warm embrace, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You know, I would do the same for you." Annabeth said.

"I know." Percy responded, before carefully placing a kiss on her forehead.

Still staying in their position, they looked over to see Hestia with tears on her face holding the stack of papers out.

"I….I can't read this anymore." she whispered.

"I'll read." Zeus announced, grabbing the papers out of Hestia's hand.

He cleared his throat before delving into the story once more.

**Her body slammed into something. She must have blacked out briefly from the pain. **

Thalia squeezed her eyes shut. The girl she considered to be her sister, who she had known since she was 7 was going to fall into a region even the gods wouldn't dare to go. It pained her so much to hear that.

**When she could see again, she realized that she'd fallen partway into the pit and was dangling over the void.**

**Percy had managed to grab a ledge about fifteen feet below the top of the chasm.**

Before anybody could get their hopes up Hera opened her mouth. "He can't possibly pull her up and himself. They're much too far from the top. They're just going to have to fall, and hope they don't get killed too awfully."

Immediately she received an entire room full of glares-Poseidon and Athena's being the worst- for her completely insensitive comment. She shrank back in her seat.

**He was holding on with one hand, gripping Annabeth's wrist with the other, but the pull on her leg was much too strong.**

Everyone went teary-eyed again.

'_How could this happen to the 2 best campers, and heroes in the world?" _Chiron thought to himself. '_It just isn't fair.' _

_**No escape, **_**said a voice in the darkness below. **_**I go to Tartarus, and you will come too.**_

**Annabeth wasn't sure if she actually heard Arachne's voice or if it was just in her mind.**

"I swear, I will kill that horrible monster that's pulling my daughter into Tartarus." Athena seethed, tears still dripping down her face.

**The pit shook. Percy was the only thing keeping her from falling. He was barely holding on to a ledge the size of a bookshelf.**

"Clarisse? Are you crying?" Chris asked her.

"No, I'm just…. ah….my eyes, they're, uh, just cleaning themselves so I could see better." she replied.

Will raised an eyebrow. "Really? Than what are those heaving sounds you're making?"

Clarisse threw her hands up in exasperation. "FINE! I am crying! But if anyone makes fun of me, I will beat them up and THEY will be the ones crying!"

Everyone silently backed off. Except Percy who just innocently asked, "Isn't everyone already crying?"

**Nico leaned over the edge of the chasm, thrusting out his hand, but he was much too far away to help. **

"I'm sorry guys." Nico whispered.

"It's definitely not your fault Nico." Percy reassured him. "He couldn't possibly be your fault."

**Hazel was yelling for the others, but even if they heard her over all the chaos, they'd never make it in time.**

Percy finally noticed how depressed the futures looked, like they were beating themselves up over this.

"Hey, uh Jason, I don't know you yet, but it looks like you guys are blaming yourselves for this all. And, I just want to say that, it's not your fault. You probably have told yourselves that already, but I want to tell you that. And it doesn't help to beat yourselves up. What's done is done. And I definitely don't blame any of you for what's happening to Annabeth and I."

The futures just stared at him, half grateful for what he had said, and half sad at the fact that someone this kind was going somewhere so terrible. Nonetheless, the all sent small smiles in his direction, to which he gladly returned.

**Annabeth's leg felt like it was pulling free of her body. Pain washed everything in red. **

Annabeth winced at this. That must have hurt like Hades.

**The force of the Underworld tugged at her like dark gravity. She didn't have the strength to fight. She knew she was too far down to be saved.**

Athena started bawling her eyes out. She couldn't believe what was happening to her favourite daughter. And she could do nothing about it.

**"Percy, let me go," she croaked. "You can't pull me up."**

"I'd never let you go." Percy whispered. "You're going to be stuck with me."

All the females in the room-minus Athena- softly cooed at Percy's words. Even Artemis. She had always thought that men were the most horrible, repulsive things in existence, always being lazy, rude, stupid, abusive, and uncaring. But Percy Jackson, must've been the only exception. He was loyal, kind, caring and inwardly smart. Everything about him was amazing. Even now, when he could save himself, he chose rather to stay with his best friend or rather his girlfriend. Artemis had to respect people like that.

**His face was white with effort. She could see in his eyes that he knew it was hopeless.**

Annabeth slowly closed her eyes. She tried to imagine what she and Percy would be going through, but it was too hard to picture. She silently made a resolution to spend as much time with her friends as possible before this tragedy would happen.

**"Never," he said.**

Everyone gave small, sad smiles at Percy's loyalty. They knew they could always count on him.

**He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"**

"You're going to attempt to close the doors?" Hades asked. "You know one of you will have to stay back, right?"

"Please brother," Poseidon begged. "Don't remind me."

**Nico's eyes widened. "But—"**

**"Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!"**

**"I—I will."**

The room was quiet for a couple seconds before Malcolm spoke up.

"Percy made Nico promise to lead them there. Do you think that was the promise mentioned in the prophecy?"

"An oath to keep with final breath." Grover whispered. "Oh please no!"

Everyone silently prayed that neither Nico nor Percy would be having to take any final breaths soon. Nico also silently told himself, '_I won't disappoint you Percy.'_

**Below them, the voice laughed in the darkness. **_**Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess.**_

"The goddess?" people wondered through tears. They looked towards the futures.

"I, uh, hate to dampen this already depressing mood, but you deserve to know. The goddess we're fighting is Gaia." Hazel revealed.

"Not Gaia!" the gods cried.

Everyone paled at the idea of fighting another war against someone worse than Kronos so quickly after the one they just fought. Chiron felt especially bad. No kid should have to go through what he saw the campers go through every day. They should just be leading normal lives. Not fighting for them.

**Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.**

Aphrodite's tears started to come down faster. "It's so sweet!" she cried.

Percy, attempting to defuse the tension for him and Annabeth, turned to Annabeth and teased, "So you think I'm handsome?"

"Well, I've seen worse." Annabeth replied.

Percy was shocked at her response for a second before replying, "I try. You don't just get a body like this, you have to care for it, and love it. Which I'm sure you do the latter."

Annabeth just rolled her eyes before placing her head gently on Percy's shoulder. She breathed in his scent-the smell of an ocean breeze, cologne, and fresh blue cookies- and thought she could get us to this. Immediately, Percy started twirling her soft blonde hair in his fingers whilst thinking the exact same thing.

**"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."**

Everyone started sobbing again. Why did it have to happen to Percy and Annabeth!? It definitely proved Percy's theory, that the best people have the worst luck.

**Only then did she understand what would happen. **_**A one-way trip. A very hard fall.**_

Percy and Annabeth winced again. The future didn't look very bright for them. Well, except the part where they start dating.

**"As long as we're together," she said.**

"As long as we're together. THAT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I'VE HEARD IN MY LIFE!" Aphrodite sobbed. "Helen and Paris, Romeo and Juliet. NONE of them compare to Percy and Annabeth! Love so strong he'd fall into Tartarus to be with her!"

No one had the heart to tease Percy and Annabeth. They were all far too much depressed at the moment.

**She heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. She saw the sunlight far, far above—maybe the last sunlight she would ever see.**

"Please don't say that!" the campers begged.

**Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness.**

Aphrodite started wailing at the beautiful sadness of it all. She snapped her fingers, instantly making a box of pink, scented tissues appear on her lap. She carefully picked up one of the tissues in her manicured fingers, and delicately wiped the tears from her eyes (making sure she did not smudge her make up. Now THAT would be the real tragedy).

"My daughter." Athena whispered heart broken.

"My son." Poseidon whispered as well.

Everyone was mostly silent, except for the sobs heard throughout the entire thing seemed to surreal to everyone. They just couldn't believe it.

"Please, tell me that was a joke you guys pulled! Please!" Katie cried at Travis and Connor.

"I wish it was just a joke Katie." Travis said.

"But we'd never do something that cruel." Connor finished.

Meanwhile, Annabeth and Percy sat paralyzed together leaning on each other for support.

"I can't believe it's actually going to happen." Annabeth whispered.

"Hey. Look at me. We'll make it. We always do." Percy replied back.

Before she could reply, they heard screaming sounds across the room. They whipped around to see Poseidon and Athena yelling at each other.

"-YOUR FAULT!" Poseidon yelled.

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLY MY FAULT?!" Athena screamed back.

"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR PRIDE, THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE CURSED ARACHNE, AND THEN ANNABETH WOULDN'T HAVE TO FIGHT HER, AND THEN SHE WOULDN'T HAVE FALLEN INTO TARTARUS WITH MY SON IN TOW!" Poseidon bellowed.

Athena, finally realizing the truth in Poseidon's words, silently closed her eyes and thought back to when she had cursed Arachne. It was all out of jealousy. Poseidon was right, she could have avoided this completely if she had chosen basically any other way.

"I'm…...I'm sorry!" she whispered.

"What?" Poseidon asked.

"I'M SORRY! IT'S MY FAULT!"

"Well, that's not going to save my son, now is it?" Poseidon replied.

"My daughter's going down there too! It's not just you who has it hard!" Athena said.

Before Poseidon could respond, Zeus started talking.

"HEY! EVERYONE!"

Everyone turned to look at Zeus. His form was blurry through all the tears in their eyes though.

"I found another note and another few sheets of paper."

Immediately, everyone started talking at the same time.

"What does it say?"

"Does it have information about Percy and Annabeth?"

"Where did you get it?"

"QUIET!" Zeus thundered. **(A/N- :D) **"It's another note from future Apollo-"

"Damn! I'm just amazing today!" Apollo cheered. He was quickly silenced by the glare Zeus sent him.

"The note reads:

I know you are all feeling horrible, and I am sorry that I can't reveal the entire future, but I have included some parts of the next book.

Here are some Sneak Peeks of House of Hades. And these are in no particular order. Enjoy! :)

-Apollo" he finished.

"So we get to know only some things that happen to Percy and Annabeth." Demeter stated. Zeus nodded.

"Well, I guess we can read them, if it cause any mental relief for you all." Ares said.

Before Zeus could start reading Aphrodite shouted, "WAIT!"

"What is it?" Hephaestus asked his wife.

"I have a question for Athena." she said turning towards Athena. "Do you approve of him now?"

"What?" Athena replied confused.

"Do you approve of Percy now? He's risking his life to be with your daughter. Even if it was in Tartarus. How could you possibly not approve. There's absolutely no guy better than him." Aphrodite explained.

"I….I approve. Everything you said was true. I….I was wrong in hating him." Athena confessed.

Aphrodite smiled and replied, "Good. Because if you didn't, Apollo wouldn't be the only one you'd be dead to."

After Athena's answer, Percy was in major shock. He couldn't believe he had won over Athena. All it took was him falling into Tartarus to be with Annabeth, which wasn't even a hard decision. Now, Percy could finally be with Annabeth without having to worry about being smited or something like that.

"I guess we can start reading the previews of the next book now." Hestia said softly, tear stains still noticeable on her face.

Zeus nodded before picking the papers up and starting to read.

_**He fell into Tartarus to be with you, **_**said a voice in her head. **_**If he dies, it will be your fault.**_

Annabeth's face fell at hearing this. She hadn't thought about it that way before, but now that she heard it, she was getting really worried. She didn't want Percy to die, and she most certainly did not want to be the cause of Percy's death. She was broken out of her train of thought by Percy's voice.

"You shouldn't be thinking like that." he told her. "I would never blame you if I were to….if I were to die in Tartarus."

"That doesn't mean it wouldn't be my fault!" she replied in a sad voice. "I still would be the reason you fell into that death hole in the first place."

"You know that's not true. You just have to stop thinking like that. Please, can you do that? For me?" Percy asked.

"Percy, I don't know….the guilt…" Annabeth started.

"Please." Percy begged.

Annabeth stared into his beautiful sea green eyes, and knew she couldn't say no to him. She would just have to keep this feeling inside her.

"Okay Percy. You win. I'll…..I'll stop thinking like that."

Percy smiled, showing off completely, pearly white teeth.

"I'm glad." he replied wrapping his arm across her shoulders and bringing her into a side hug.

Across from them, Aphrodite was still tearing up at the "most beautiful sight since she looked in the mirror ten minutes ago". Gotta love Aphrodite.

Zeus handed the next page to Apollo, and he proceeded to read.

**'Keep climbing,' he told himself.**

**'Cheeseburgers,' his stomach replied.**

**'Shut up,' he thought.**

**'With fries,' his stomach complained.**

Everyone burst out laughing at Percy's thoughts. They were comedy gold. And it helped everyone feel a bit better about the fact that Percy and Annabeth were going to fall into Tartarus. Percy was semi-pouting at his conversation with his stomach (which was completely normal). Was he really going to be that hungry? At that point, Percy made a promise in his head to eat more. Just to stock up for Tartarus off course. Totally wasn't because he had an endless pit for a stomach. Pffft.

Apollo handed the next page to Artemis, who cleared her throat before beginning her section.

**The voice cackled maliciously. **_**To curse you, of course! To destroy you a thousand times in the name of Mother Night!**_

"**Only a thousand times?" Percy murmured. "Oh, good...I thought we were in trouble."**

**The circle of demon ladies closed in.**

"Mother Night?" the campers questioned.

The gods all just shook their heads, they didn't want to depress anyone any further. They knew how terrible those demon ladies could be.

Connor, noticing the tension in the room, nudged his brother before they both simultaneously bowed down at Percy's feet and chanted "Hail Percy Jackson! King of Sarcasm! Sarcastic even in the face of death!"

The campers burst out laughing, having small comments about how true that statement was, while the god's sighed in relief of no longer being questioned. Hermes shot Connor and Travis a grateful smile before grabbing the papers out of Artemis' hands and beginning to read.

**After Percy's victory then, Gaea had warned him: **_**Do not press your luck. When your death comes, I promise it will be much more painful than gorgon's blood.**_

**Now he was in Tartarus, dying from gorgon's blood plus a dozen other agonizing curses, while he watched his girlfriend stumble around, helpless and blind and believing he'd abandoned her**_**.**_

At this point all the laughs had died down. No one dared to say anything, still in shock at what they had just heard. Percy would be d…dy..dying in Tartarus.

Hazel and Frank's mouths dropped open. They had already seen Percy when he had chosen the right gorgon's blood, and he looked like crap. Now he was going to be drinking the wrong one?! They both prayed that someway, somehow, Percy would be saved from that torture. And Annabeth too. They knew how much he cared for her, and it probably hurt him to hear that she thought he abandoned her.

"Gorgon's blood?" Annabeth whispered in horror. She knew how bad that was, and she couldn't believe Percy was d..dyin..she couldn't even say it. Immediately, she grabbed Percy's hand, hoping to find some comfort in him and to provide him with some as well.

"My son!" Poseidon mumbled over and over, instantly being brought back to the reality of the situation. Tartarus was still a very dangerous place. No matter how much Percy could joke around with.

Percy, on the other hand, drew in a gulp. Despite everyone thinking he wasn't afraid of anything, he really was. And this terrified him. What happened to him? And even more importantly, why did Annabeth think he had abandoned her? He would never do that. Him falling into Tartarus for her proved that well enough.

Hermes handed the next page to Demeter, and she slowly started reading.

**"Anyway," she said, "I guess the brochure didn't say much, because you weren't spotlighted on the tour. We got to see the River Phlegethon, the Cocytus, the arai, the poison glade of Akhlys, even some random Titans and giants, but Nyx...hmm, no you weren't really featured."**

**"Featured? Spotlighted?"**

**"Yeah," Percy said, warming up to the idea. "We came down here for the Tartarus tour-like, exotic destinations, you know? The Underworld is overdone. Mount Olympus is a tourist trap-"**

**"Gods, totally!" Annabeth agreed. "So we booked the Tartarus excursion, but no one even mentioned we'd run into Nyx. Huh. Oh, well. Guess they didn't think you were important." **

"What are you doing?" practically everyone in the room asked confusion dawning on their faces.

"I dunno. But, I bet its probably some part of Annabeth's brilliant plan." Percy replied.

Annabeth blushed at the fact Percy thought so highly of her. She hoped she could live up to his expectations.

Demeter passed the pages on to Hera.

_**Be honoured, little demigods, **_**said the god of the pit. **_**Even the Olympians were never worthy of my personal attention. But **_**you **_**will be destroyed by Tartarus himself!**_

Everyone paled at that, especially the gods.

"My daughter is going to have an encounter with….with Tartarus." Athena cried in disbelief.

Several other cries of "No, this can't be!" and "That's so unfair!" and "Not Percy and Annabeth!" were heard above the sobbing sounds.

Finally, after five minutes of this commotion, Grover stood up and yelled, "EVERYONE!" They all looked at him through their puffy, watery eyes.

"I know this all seems very sad. And I know that it all seems so unfair that Annabeth and Percy have to face our worst nightmare. Those two are my best friends, and I don't want to lose them. But we can't be all mopey, we need to have hope. The odds seem very stacked right now, but there is that slim chance that Percy and Annabeth can make it out of there. And I've never met anyone stronger, braver or altogether better than those two. If anyone can make it out of Tartarus, it'll be them! Especially when they're together. They can do anything!" he exclaimed.

All of a sudden Poseidon started clapping, and then Athena, and then Aphrodite, and soon everyone was clapping at Grover's speech. It was just the thing they needed to make them feel better. And though the odds weren't great, they were still going to hold onto that chance that Percy and Annabeth could make it.

Percy and Annabeth were both smiling widely at Grover's speech, glad he had so much faith in them. Though they couldn't stop the feeling that maybe the risks were too high this time, and maybe they wouldn't make it out.

Hera took the papers and announced, "This is the last section. Who wants to read?"

Instantly, Aphrodite's hand shot up, and she grabbed the papers out of Hera's hands.

"**You promised, Seaweed Brain. We would **_**not **_**get separated! Ever again!"**

"That….that was Annabeth talking. Why was she implying that her and Percy would be separated?" Athena questioned. "He was supposed to protect her!"

"Maybe he is." Hephaestus replied.

Athena shook her head, trying to go over possible reasons why Annabeth would be saying they were getting separated. After all, thinking helped the pain go away.

Annabeth was also doing some thinking of her own. '_Why would he try and leave me? After he promised.' _Percy, finally realizing what present Annabeth was thinking turned to her and said, "You know, I would only ever leave if it was to protect you. I don't know why I would have said it here but I just want you to know that I care about you, enough to sacrifice myself if needed."

Annabeth looked up at him.

"What if I don't want you to go?" she asked timidly.

He gently kissed the top of her nose. "We'll figure it out when we get there."

All of a sudden they heard Dionysus clear his throat.

"Sorry to interrupt your little love fest, but now what do we do? We finished reading right?"

"Yes, we did." Hestia said softly.

"Then can we get an answer kid? I want to get out of here, and maybe get a drink or two." Dionysus said.

"Answer for-" Percy started.

"HEY LOOK!" Tyson shouted. "The future kids are disappearing!"

Percy and Annabeth turned to look to see a shimmering white light cover Jason and his friends. They sent small waves to the pair before yelling, "We have to get back. We have a quest to attempt!"

"But I still have so many…." the bright light faded, taking the five of them back to the future. "Questions." Percy finished.

"Well, know that they're gone, let's get back to business shall we." Zeus announced. "Percy Jackson. Would you like to become a god? You could avoid that dim future ahead of you."

Percy suddenly remember what had been happening before, he was making my decision. He scanned the crowd of faces to see what everyone was thinking, now that they knew his future. Majority was nodding their heads, and some stayed impassive.

Percy looked towards the gods. Most looked indifferent. He looked at his father. Poseidon was nodding his head gently, silently urging to say yes.

Finally, Percy looked beside him at Annabeth. Her face had become white again, with nervousness displayed all over it. Immediately, Annabeth's latest words to him rang through his head. '_What if I don't want you to go?'_ Percy instantly made his choice.

"_No."_

**A/N: YAY! I'm done! Finally! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this, and if you liked it please follow/favourite me! **

**And One last thing. For all you haters out there, please don't report this or something. I've worked really hard on this and that wouldn't very nice. **

**Please Review!**

**(If you do, Percy will give you a hug) ; )**


	2. Important Author's Note!

**Hey Guys(Queenies)! What up? It's QueenOfHearts143 here! So first of all, no, this is not another chapter, and I'm sorry. BUT I have a good reason. I have a question for y'all. So you see, a lot of you has commented, saying that I am a good reading-the-story writer and as suggested I write more. SOOO, I want to know, if you'd like me to write a Reading The House of Hades one? Please leave comments in the form of reviews of PM me if you have any ideas, or thoughts. On Saturday, I will start writing, if you guys say yes of course. Anyway so that was it! **

**Love, **

**QueenOfHearts143**

**P.S. So I got Twitter today, and I would love it if you'd follow me. And I will make sure to tweet about any upcoming stories/posts/chapters. So yeah! Follow me QuoteQueen143! (the exclamation point is not part of it)**


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